Stacey Tessis, this week's guest author, shares some information about screen time addictions and will help you think about whether or not screen time is hindering your child's growth and development.

At the end of August, news outlets reported that a 51-year-old man living in Hawaii was suing a video game company for his addiction to the game Lineage II. He claimed that he spent more than 20,000 hours playing the game from 2004-2009 and is now unable to function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends.

This may seem far-fetched or an anomaly at best, but is it really?

According to the website video-game-addiction.org, studies estimate that 10 to 15 percent of gamers exhibit addictive behavior, a high number of whom have ADHD and depression.

I find this story frighteningly plausible when I think of how many children with ASD get easily "locked" into video games and other types of "screens" like computers and television. Though some video games and television programming offer educational benefits and opportunities for problem solving, the majority provide a "safe" environment void of demands and uncertainty ‑ the perfect recipe to feed a static ASD brain.

For some kids, their preoccupation with screen time continues even when the power button has been switched off. They think and talk incessantly about their favorite characters and episodes, often scripting or acting out scenes.

For good reason, many parents are concerned about their child's obsession with screen time and wonder if they should limit or cut it out altogether. Is there room for video games, computers and TV when adopting an RDI^® lifestyle?

In this two-part series, I will look at the pros and cons of allowing children to use electronics and how three objectives from the Parent Readiness & Commitment stage of your RDI^® Family Guided Participation Program can help you to make some tough yet necessary decisions about your family's screen time.

 A Necessary Evil?

I'm sure that you are already keenly aware that the way in which children spend their free time and the forms of entertainment available to them have changed dramatically since we were kids. Many of us remember our parents sending us outdoors to play with specific instructions to not to come back until dinner time. We played simple games like jacks and hopscotch and traded baseball and hockey cards. We had TVs, but our lives certainly didn't revolve around them. There was no such thing as "screen time."

Electronic forms of entertainment have infiltrated our culture and they are hard to escape. Children as young as 2 years old are being exposed to video and computer games. Just do an online search for toddler video games and you'd be surprised at the number of entries that pop up. Can you think back to the last time you went to a restaurant where you didn't see at least one kid playing a handheld game system at the table? You can't even seek refuge from them at the library of all places where computer games are readily accessible.

So why not ban screen time from your home? There is no shortage of studies illustrating its negative effects on children ‑ from an increase in obesity and aggressive behavior to eye strain and headaches to poor attention in the classroom. Just think about how peaceful your life would become: no more arguments about when your kids can play on the computer next and for how long; no more meltdowns or negative reactions when you ask them to turn off the TV; and no more incessant talking and scripting about their favorite characters, games and shows.

With this obstacle out of the way, imagine how much experience-sharing you could do and how much more quality time you'd have to focus on your relationship with your child.

But before you start freeing up electrical sockets and selling your child's prized video game console on eBay, consider the implications of declaring your home a screen-free zone.  The first thing that probably comes to mind is, "Oh, there goes my ability to prepare dinner, do paperwork, etc. uninterrupted!" or "Then what am I going to do with the kids all day?"  But one maybe less obvious consideration is the social implications this would create.

As I mentioned earlier, technology and electronics are a part of our popular culture.  And like it or not, this is what kids talk about and do together. Most children with ASD already find social relationships with peers difficult, but having something in common like a favorite baseball team and being able to talk about last night's game or pretend to be different players while throwing a ball around enables them to relate to each other better and creates a more equal "playing field."

In Part 2 of this blog series, I will discuss how to identify if your child's screen time is an obstacle to your guided participation relationship and what to do about it.

Stacey Tessis, B.A., A.T.C. is a passionate, insightful and results-oriented Parenting Coach and RDI^® Program Certified Consultant in Toronto, Canada. She empowers and guides parents to effectively drive their child's remediation and bring more joy to their lives. The source of Stacey's greatest joy is the time spent with her young son discovering the universe through his inquisitive eyes. He inspires her to explore her fun side and to radiate possibility into the world.

 Inspire to Shine Autism Remediation Services

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tel: 416-630-7838

E-mail: stessis@gmail.com